A BBC Breakfast guest received a devastating health update during the latest episode of the show. Presenter Charlie Stayt spoke about a current NHS trial that can cut the time needed for an accurate brain diagnosis from up to eight weeks down to just two hours.
News correspondent Fergus Walsh headed to a hospital in Nottingham to speak to Steve Palmer, one of the patients benefiting from the pioneering test. Ahead of his operation, the 55-year-old told the BBC he was hoping the tumour would all be removed, which would then let him 'get on with recovery'.
Devastating news after surgery
Later in the pre-recorded segment, Steve was shown a few days after his operation, speaking with neurosurgeon Simon Paine, who had operated on him. The doctor told Steve that, sadly, 'it's not great news', revealing the tumour was a grade 4 and sharing that the type of tumour was called glioblastoma.
However, Steve was told that as they had a complete genetic profile of the tumour, it could potentially open doors to clinical trial opportunities. Speaking about the diagnosis, the 55-year-old confessed that it wasn't the news he wanted to hear, before looking on to the next phase of treatment.
Three-word remark
Issuing a three-word remark, he told Fergus he wanted to 'get onto fighting' whatever it was he had to now going forward. When asked whether the new rapid testing had helped ease the anxiety Steve might have faced during a lengthy wait for results, he readily agreed, telling him, 'absolutely'.
How the rapid testing works
Elsewhere in the segment, BBC viewers saw Fergus inside the operating theatre while Steve was having his operation, as he explained how the rapid testing worked. He told people that once the tumour was exposed, surgeons collect tissue samples, which are swiftly transported to laboratories and fed into a sequencing machine that decodes the tumour's unique genetic profile.
This means that with this groundbreaking new testing method, results are delivered while the patient is still on the operating table. BBC Breakfast is available to watch weekdays on BBC One from 6am.
